Daily Recovery Readings - November

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November 7

Daily Reflections

LET GO AND LET GOD

. . . praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 96

When I "Let Go and Let God," I think more clearly and wisely. Without having to think
about it, I quickly let go of things that cause me immediate pain and discomfort. Because
I find it hard to let go of the kind of worrisome thoughts and attitudes that cause me
immense anguish, all I need do during those times is allow God, as I understand Him, to
release them for me, and then and there, I let go of the thoughts, memories and attitudes
that are troubling me.

When I receive help from God, as I understand Him, I can live my life one day at a time
and handle whatever challenges that come my way. Only then can I live a life of victory
over alcohol, in comfortable sobriety.

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

A.A. Thought For The Day

I have lost many of my resentments. I have found that getting even with people doesn't
do any good. When we try to get revenge, instead of making us feel better, it leaves us
frustrated and cheated. Instead of punishing our enemies, we've only hurt our own peace
of mind. It does not pay to nurse a grudge, it hurts us more than anyone else. Hate causes
frustration, inner conflict, and neurosis. If we give out hate, we will become hateful. If we
are resentful, we will be resented. If we do not like people, we will not be liked by people.
Revengefulness is a powerful poison in our systems. Have I lost my resentments?

Meditation For The Day

It is not so much you, as the grace of God that is in you, that helps those around you. If
you would help even those you dislike, you have to see that there is nothing in you to
block the way, to keep God's grace from using you. Your own pride and selfishness are
the greatest blocks. Keep those out of the way and God's grace will flow through you into
the lives of others. Then all who come in contact with you can be helped in some way.
Keep the channel open, free from those things that make your life futile and ineffective.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that all who come in contact with me will feel better for it. I pray that I may be
careful not to harbor those things in my heart that put people off.

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As Bill Sees It

Spiritual Axiom, p. 309

It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter
what the cause, there is something wrong with us. If somebody hurts
us and we are sore, we are in the wrong, too.

But are there no exceptions to this rule? What about "justifiable"
anger? If somebody cheats us, aren't we entitled to be mad? And
shouldn't we be properly angry with self-righteous folks?

For us of A.A. these adventures in anger are sometimes very
dangerous. We have found that even justified anger ought to be left
to those better qualified to handle it.

12 & 12, p. 90

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Walk In Dry Places

Sincerity at the beginning
Self-Honesty
We were told at our first AA meeting that half-measures will avail us nothing. What's needed is a sincere desire to stop drinking and seek a new way of life.
As we continue in the program, we learn that sincerity is an ingredient for success in everything we do. Quite often, we may find that we're failing in something simply because our heart isn't really in it.
We can't force ourselves into a sincere posture. Instead, the answer is to know ourselves well enough to know just how we feel about everything we do.
We'll learn to be careful about attempting to do something when our heart is not really in it. We may be doing something we dislike merely for the recognition and money it gives us. For real sincerity, we need more than that, and the truths of the program will help us find it.
I'll be conscious today of the sincerity I have about things I am attempting to do. There may be some things I need to abandon or at least change.

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Keep It Simple

Telling the truth is a pretty hard thing.---ThomasWolfe.
Often, we get scared to tell the truth. We wonder, “What will
happen? Will I get in trouble? Will someone be mad at me?'” These things could happen. But good things could happen too. Sometimes we want to lie.
We don't want anyone mad at us or unhappy with us. We want people off our back. So we lie. And it comes back to haunt us. We must believe that the best will happen in the long run if we tell the truth. Our program tells us that we can stay sober if we're honest. Telling the truth takes faith. We must have faint in the program. We must be honest. Our sobriety and our life depend on it.
Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me remember that I'm doing things Your way when I tell the truth.
Action for the Day: I will think about what I say today. I will be as honest as I can be.

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Each Day a New Beginning

. . . we will be victorious if we have not forgotten how to learn. --Rosa Luxemburg
For most of us the struggle was long, painful and lonely to the place where we are now. But survive we have, and survive we will. The times we thought we could go no further are only dimly recalled. The experiences we were certain would destroy us fit ever so neatly into our book of memories.
We have survived, and the program is offering us the means for continued survival. Step by Step we are learning to handle our problems, build relationships based on honesty, and choose responsible behavior. We are promised serenity if we follow the Steps.
Gratitude for our survival is best expressed by working the program, setting an example for others, helping those women who haven't yet attained victory. We must give away what we have learned to make way for our own new growth. There are many victories in our future if we keep pressing forward, opening new doors, and trusting in the process of the program and its promises.
I am still willing to learn or I wouldn't be here, now. There are victories in my future. I will look for a victory today. It's certain to accompany responsible action on my part.

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition

The Doctor's Opinion

I do not hold with those who believe that alcoholism is entirely a problem of mental control. I have had many men who had, for example, worked a period of months on some problem or business deal which was to be settled on a certain date, favorably to them. They took a drink a day or so prior to the date, and then the phenomenon of craving at once became paramount to all other interests so that the important appointment was not met. These men were not drinking to escape; they were drinking to overcome a craving beyond their mental control.
There are many situations which arise out of the phenomenon of craving which cause men to make the supreme sacrifice rather than continue to fight.

pp. xxix-xxx

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Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition Stories

Women Suffer Too

Despite great opportunities, alcohol nearly ended her life. Early member, she spread the word among women in our pioneering period.

That was the point at which my doctor gave me the book "Alcoholics Anonymous" to read. The first chapters were a revelation to me. I wasn't the only person in the world who felt and behaved like this! I wasn't mad or vicious—I was a sick person. I was suffering from an actual disease that had a name and symptoms like diabetes or cancer or TB—and a disease was respectable, not a moral stigma! But then I hit a snag. I couldn't stomach religion, and I didn't like the mention of God or any of the other capital letters. If that was the way out, it wasn't for me. I was an intellectual answer, not an emotional one. I told my doctor so in no uncertain terms. I wanted to learn to stand on my own two feet, not to change one prop for another, and an intangible and dubious one at that. And so on and on, for several weeks, while I grudgingly plowed through some more of the offending book, and felt more and more hopeless about myself.

pp. 205-206

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Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions

Step Twelve - "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs."

Then perhaps life, as it has a way of doing, suddenly hands us a great big lump that we can't begin to swallow, let alone digest. We fail to get a worked-for promotion. We lose that good job. Maybe there are serious domestic or romantic difficulties, or perhaps that boy we thought God was looking after becomes a military casualty.
What then? Have we alcoholics in A.A. got, or can we get, the resources to meet these calamities which come to so many? These were problems of life which we could never face up to. Can we now, with the help of God as we understand Him, handle them as well and as bravely as our nonalcoholic friends often do? Can we transform these calamities into assets, sources of growth and comfort to ourselves and those about us? Well, we surely have a chance if we switch from "two-stepping" to "twelve-stepping," if we are willing to receive that grace of God which can sustain and strengthen us in any catastrophe.

p. 113

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Progress results from persistence with purpose.
--Frank Tyger

Remember--nothing will happen that you and God can't handle together.
--Author Unknown

I've never learned anything while I was talking.
--Larry King

"Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact."
--William James

He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much.
--Lao-Tzu

Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs.
--Pearl Strachan Hurd

The written word can be erased - not so with the spoken word.
--Unknown

A blow with a word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword.
--Robert Burton

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Father Leo's Daily Meditation

FEAR

"A good scare is worth more to a man than good advice."
Ed Howe

My fear of alcoholism helped me into treatment. My awareness of reality -- "I am
an alcoholic," -- helped me towards recovery. I was scared into treatment!

I must never forget my frightening yesterdays because that can so easily lead to
minimization and tomorrow's denial. I need to remember my pain if I am to continue
to gain. My car accident, my abuse of self and others, my suicidal behavior should be
feared, on a daily basis, because it is only one drink away!

God has given me memory -- I need to use it. My spiritual courage is in remembering
my yesterdays so that I can continue to enjoy the sobriety of today.

May I see that a healthy fear comes from God; it is part of God's love for me.

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"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's
will for you in Christ Jesus."
I Thessalonians 5:16-18

"I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Psalm 27:13

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Daily Inspiration

Fears cannot survive without your full attention. Lord, help me to face my fears, realize that they are not as big as I imagine and see that their main purpose is to stop me from action.

Today is far too short to visit with all the friend you want to see, to read all that you want to read, to think all that you want to think, to do all that you want to do. Thank You, Lord, for this beautiful day and for the privilege of spending it as I choose. May I spend it wisely.